Article wrapping machine



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G. C. MONACO ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE Nov, 111, 1952 Filed Feb. 25, 1946 Ria Nov. 111, 1952 e. c. MONACO ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1946 fl n H Nov. M, 1952 MoNAcd 2,617,240

ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 GFORGE C, MONACO (5. C. MONACO ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE Nov. 11, 1952 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 25, 1946 INVENTOR.

m W M C u R pm A T OEA/EY Nov. 111, 1952 e. c. MONACO ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 25, 1946 INVENTOR. 6602 0. Molvqco NOV. 11, 1952 c, MONACO 2,617,240

ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1946 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 IN V EN TOR.

\ 62-0 RG5 Mon/Ace n W A 7'; OQNEY Nov. 1111, 1952 G. c. MONACO 2,617,240

ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Feb. 25, 1946 '7 Sheets-Sheet 7 'C) i5. lZ. L9

AT ORNEY Patented Nov. 11, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTICLE WRAPPING MACHINE George 0. Monaco, Little Neck, N. Y.

Application February '25, 1946, Serial No. 649,943

'20 Claims. '1

This invention relates to article wrapping machines.

.It .is an object of the invention to provide an article wrapping machine comprising relatively few and simple parts and which is easy to construct, maintain and operate.

It is another Object of the invention to provide a machine of the character described which is fast and eflicient in operation.

Certain objects of the invention relate to details of construction and operation of the machine, and among these are to provide a machine of the character described which folds the trailing edge in a novel manner, which transfers from a bottom pusher to an overhead pusher in order to eifect a heat seal on the bottom of the package, and which may readily be opened up for cleaning and repair.

- Other objects of theinvention will in part be obvious and in part hereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists of the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings and described below.

In these drawings, which represent one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

Fig. 1 is a side view of the machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a partially wrapped stack of biscuits as it appears just be fore it is fed into the machine;

Fig. 4 is a detail perspective Vie illustrating the condition of said package and the surrounding machine elements at the time that the package is first fed into the machine;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view through the machine at the discharge end;

Fig. 5a is a similar sectional view through the machine at the loading end;

Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view illustrating I the condition of the package and the surrounding machine elements at the time the leading and trailing edges of the package are being folded;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view through a portion of the machine taken substantially along the line 'l-'l of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a top plan view of a portion of the machine taken substantially along the line ll-8' of Fig. '7;

Figs. 9, l0 and 11 are transverse sectional views through the machine taken along the lines'99, Ill-l0 and H-H, respectively, of Fig. '7;

Fig. 12 is a transverse sectional View through the machine taken substantially alongrth line l2-l2 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 13 is a. detail transverse sectional view through the machine at the discharge station; and

Fig. 14 is a detail longitudinal sectional view through the machine at the discharge station, the same being illustrative of the manner in which articles are erected and stacked as they leave the machine.

In general, the machine includes a loading station at which articles to be Wrapped are placed. These articles may be loaded into the machine partially wrapped or the machine may include means at the loading station to envelop the articles in wrappers. In either event, the first partial wrapping is so carried out that the wrappers overlap at the bottoms of the articles. It may be mentioned here that the term article as used herein denotes either a single item or a group of items, e. g. a stack of flat biscuits as shown.

From the loading station articles are moved into the machine by a conveyor which includes bottom pushers engaging each article. Assoelated and movable with these bottom pushers are bottom tuckers, whereby a bottom fold is formed in the wrapper as the article is loaded into the machine and is maintained as the article travels to subsequent folders and tuckers.

The bottom pusher conveys articles to and beyond stations where the partially wrapped and bottom folded articles have their trailing and leading edges tucked. It is pointed out here that the trailing edg at each side of an article is tucked in a novel manner by one of a plurality of trailing edge tucker blades which travel alongside of, and in the same direction as, the bottom tucker but at a speed greater than the bottom tucker so as to overtake the bottom tucker and effect a trailing edge fold. These trailing edge tuckers maintain the fold in the trailing edge until the leading edge has been tucked, and at such tim suitable means maintain the bottom, trailing and leading edge folds in proper position against the article while movement of the article is shifted from the bottom pusher to a top pusher in order that the bottom of the wrapped article may engage a heated sealing plate. After the transfer from the bottom to the top pusher, the top pusher moves the partially wrapped articles to and beyond a. top folding plate and then to a sealing station which includes heated bottom and side sealing plates.

Finally, the top pusher moves the fully wrapped and now sealed articles to and beyond accol-ing station and to-adischarge station where, as the top pusher leaves the-wrapped and sealed articles,

it turns the articles 90 so as to stack the same prior to transferral to a suitable container.

General organization Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, 20 denotes a machine embodying my invention and comprising a frame 22 including four corner legs 24 held together by struts 26 adjacent their bottom and by struts 28 adjacent their top ends. A pair of transverse bars 38, 32 close the frame at its front and rear ends so that the top of the frame has a hollow oblong configuration as best seen in Fig. 2. The frame also includes a pair of spaced channel irons 34, 35 which extend the length of the machine between the outside struts 28 and are adapted to serve as supports for bearings for many of the shafts hereinafter described and for other of the machine elements.

A motor (not shown) is disposed on the floor and is connected by a belt 38 (Figs. 1, 2, 8 and 10) to a sheave 40 which is mounted on a drive shaft 42 journalled in bearings on the struts 28 and channel irons 34, 36 (Fig. 10).

The loading station and bottom Pushers The shaft 42 carries a sprocket 44 (Figs. a and 8) disposed approximately on the longitudinal axis of the machine. This sprocket is in line with another sprocket 46 at the front end of the machine and an endless chain 48 is trained over said sprockets. The upper horizontal reach of said chain rides on a bar 50 (Fig. 4) supported by the frame 22. The lower reach of the chain runs over a pair of front and back sprockets 52, the

rear one of which turns freely on a shaft 54. The shaft carrying the sprocket 46 is adjustable 1ongitudinally of the machine by a screw 51, as inclicated in Fig. 7, in order to take up slack in the chain 48. At regular intervals along the chain 48, e. g. every five links, a pusher bar 56 is mounted in such manner as to extend vertically upwardly from the top reach of the chain.

The motor is turned in such direction that the pusher bars on the top reach will move in the direction indicated by the arrow A. Said pusher bars travel in a slot defined by a pair of spaced angle irons 58, 60 (Figs. 4 and 9) whose horizontal flanges are adapted to serve as a support for articles engaged by the pusher bar's.

It will be appreciated that the sprocket 48 at the front end of the machine, in effect, comprises the loading station at which articles, such as a partially wrapped stack of biscuits S, are adapted to be fed.

To provide a work table for packers at the loading station, I may mount a pair of sheet metal plates 62, 64 (Figs. 1 and 4) on the frame to each side of the angle irons 58, 60. Desirably these plates are hinged to the frame 22 so that they may be easily swung out of the way when it is desired to obtain access to the inside of the machine.

The bottom tuckers The sprocket 46 is mounted for rotation about a shaft 68 which also carries a pair of sprockets 68, (Fig. 2). The sprockets 68, 10 are secured to the shaft 66 on both sides of the sprocket 46 by set screws in order that they may be adjusted toward and away from the chain 48 so as to be able to wra articles of different lengths. Each sprocket 68, 10 is engaged by one of a pair of endless chains 12, and since the paths of these chains are identica1 only one of them will be described.

After leaving the sprocket 10, said chain travels parallel to and in the same direction as the chain 48 until it reaches an idling sprocket 14 (Figs. 5a and 8) secured to a shaft 16 by a set screw so that it can be shifted into line with the sprocket 10. The chain 12 then turns about a driving sprocket l8 fixed by a set screw to a shaft 80. The chain now return toward the loading end of the machine where it engages a sprocket coaxial with the forward sprocket 52 before once again passing over the sprocket '10. It should be particularly noted that the sprocket I4 is at the same level as the sprocket 68, but that the sprocket I8 is beneath the same, and also that the sprocket l4 lies between the sprockets 44, 46 which actuate the pusher bars. The purpose of this arrangement will shortly be apparent. Sprocket I8 is driven from shaft 42 by sprockets ll, 19 on shafts 42 and 80, respectively, and chain 8|.

Bottom tucker plates 82 are affixed to the links of the chains 12, these plates being of any suitable shape to form a bottom tuck in the Wrapping of the articles being handled. The spacing between adjacent bottom tucker plates is identical with the spacing between adjacent pusher bars, inasmuch as the pusher bar chain 48 and the tucker bar chains 12 travel at exactly the same rates of speeds. The tucker plates are so positioned on their chains with respect to the pusher bars that each pusher bar will be led slightly by a pair of tucker plates to each side thereof, the tucker plates leading the pusher bars sufficiently with respect to the articles being wrapped that said tucker bars are disposed approximately centrally of the ends of the article. By having all of the sprockets which carry the tucker bar chains so mounted on their respective shafts that they may be adjusted angularly, the tucker plates, in addition to being movable toward and away from each other to accommodate various lengths of articles, also may be moved longitudinally of the chains 12 so as to change the amount of lead of the pusher bars in order to accommodate articles of different widths.

In the use of the machine herein illustrated, it is intended that a stack S of biscuits be enveloped in a wrapper W in such fashion that the overlapping edges of the wrapper are disposed beneath the bottom of the stack, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Before the articles are fed into the machines, it is desirable to have these over-'- lapping edges secured to each other at least temporarily. This may be done by glue, if the wrapper is paper or the like. However, the instant machine is primarily designed to seal the wrappers by heat and, therefore, said overlapping edges may be secured to each other in a manner more suitable to wrappers of this nature, e. g. by heat-sealing tacks (small heat-sealed areas), or by the application of a softening agent in the event that the wrapper thus can be rendered tacky. Good softening agents for this purpose that can be used on most of the wrapping materials are acetone and amyl acetate.

It will thus be seen that before an article is fed into the machine, it is enveloped by a wrapper whose overlapping edges are disposed at the bottom of the article and sealed together and whose ends extend beyond the ends of the article. in the form of a rectangular 'tube whose section corresponds to that of the article. It is the main purpose of the present invention to fold in these extending rectangular tubular ends by effectuating therein a bottom tuck fold, a trailing edge fold, a leading edge fold and a top-flap fold, as

well as to heat-seal the various folds and the overlapping edges.

The first of the folds formed is the bottom tuck fold, the same being obtained by the bottom tucker plates 82 just described. This fold is made at both ends of the article as the partially wrapped article is laid into the machine between two tucker plates and with 'its trailing side abutted against a pusher bar, as clearly shown in Fig. 4. In other words, the bottom fold at each side of the package is secured merely by laying the package properly in the machine.

It will be observed that this fold is kept in place by the tucker plates as long as they travel in horizontal lines parallel to the operative path of travel of the pusher bars. As a mater of fact, the machine is designed to have the tucker plates keep the bottom folds in place at least until the front and trailing edges are folded, and preferably until some other means is provided to hold all of these folds in position.

.It will be seen that if the tucker plates suddenly are revolved 180 about a sprocket after all these folds have been effected there will be a tendency for the plates either to disturb the folds or to disturb the wrapped article, and it is in order to prevent such an occurence that the sprocket "I8 is disposed behind and at a level slightly below the sprocket M. This enables the tucker plates to gradually descend from the horizontal line in which the Wrapped articles are moved, and thus gently disengage from the folds of the wrapped articles.

It should be observed that tucker plates are attached to the outer sides of their chains I2 The trailing edge folders The trailing edges at the sides of the Wrapped article are infolded by trailing edge folding blades 84 (Fig. 6). These blades are mounted on endless chains 86 located outside of the chains 12. Said chains 86 travel around sprockets '88, 90 and 92 (Figs. 5a, 7 and 8)., respectively, which are mounted on shafts 94, 96 and 54. All of said sprockets are secured t their several shafts by set screws in order to accommodate for different lengths of articles and in order that the proper operative relationship may be maintained between these blades 84, th bottom tucker plates 82 and the pusher bars 56.

The chains 86 are driven from shaft 54, which is actuated by a sprocket I00 (Figs. 1, 2 and 8) and chain I02 from a sprocket I04 on the shaft 42.

It will be seen from inspection that the sprocket I04 is larger than the sprocket I00, thus causing the chain 86 for the trailing edge folding blades to travel more rapidly than the chain 12 for the bottom tucker plates or than the chain 48 for the pusher bars. This enables the trailing edge folding blades 84 to start from behind the trailing edges of a wrapped article and from this position to overtake and passsaid trailing edges. The blades 84 are so positioned laterally of the wrapped articles by suitable adjustment of the set screws holding the several sprockets 88-92 on their respective shafts that as said blades pass the articles they will fold the trailing edges of the wrappers against the articles, as clearly shown in Fig. 6.

Inasmuch as the trailing edge folding blades 84 must be synchronized with the bottom tucker plates 82 and, pusher bars 56., the spacing between said blades 84 exceeds that between. the

pusher bars and tucker plates by an amount which is a function of the superior speed of the blades 84. In the illustrated embodiment, I have spaced apart the blades '84 six links, as compared to the five link spacing of the pusher bars and tucker plates, and I operate the chain 86 twenty per cent (20%) faster than the chains 48 and 12.

Since it is desirable to keep the trailing edge folding blades in contact with the wrapped article while the leading edge folds are made, the trailing edge folds preferably are effected near the point where the leading edge folds are obtained. Furthermore, since the trailing edge folder moves quite rapidly compared to the pusher bars and bottom 'tuckers, the effective period of operation of the trailing edge folders must be quite short. For these reasons the sprockets 88, 90, which lie in the same horizontal plane as the sprockets 44, 4'6, .68., 1'0 and I4 and which represent the effective operating span of the blades :34, :are spaced quite close together and near, but ahead of, the sprocket 14, which represents the point of departure of the chain "I2 from the horizontal.

It will be observed that the sprocket I92 duplicates the function of the sprocket 18 in order that the trailing edge folder blades 'maygra'dua'lly and gently descend from their operative position without interfering with the forward edgeor top fiap fold. The folding blades 84., :by the .naturecof their operation, must be disposed outside of the plates 82. However, it is preferable that they :be disposed as close to the plates 82 as possible, and accordingly I mount the blades '84 on the inside surface of their carrying chains 86.

Take up of slack in the chain 86 is effectedfby adjusting the position of the shaft '94 longitudinally of the machine.

The leaclmgedge folders Slightly before or after the trailing edges of the wrapped articles areengaged by the blades 84, said articles are forced by the pusher bars 56 between a stationary pair of spaced leading "edge folding strips I 06 (Fig. 6) disposed laterally of the chain 48. The operative end of said strips are arranged to engage and fold the leading edges of the wrapped articles, said ends being flared outwardly slightly to lessen the shock of engagement, and having outwardly extending conventional lips I08 along their upper edges.

Each strip I06 is mounted on a pair of arms ="I'I 0 which are slidably received in the opposite ends of a bar I I2 supported on a rod I I4. Springs 116 encircling the rods IIO resiliently urge the strips I 06 toward articles passing through the machine, so that as soon as a wrapped article is engaged by said strips, all previous folds, which now underlie the strip, will be maintained in position. The pressure with which strips are urged against articles is varied by adjustable collars I I8 on the ends of the rods projecting through the bar. The position of the strips I 06 is regulated by controlling the location of the spindles I I4 which-are adjustably received in journals I20 and there held by set screws I22.

The resilient mounting of the strips I06, in addition to enabling the same to hold previously made folds in place, also permits the blades 84 to enter between said strips and a wrapped article, thereby insuring a neat, tight trailing edge fold. Accordingly, the strips I06 should at least partially overlie the path of travel of the blades 84 between the sprockets 88, 90, such relative positioning being illustrated best in Fig. 7.

'7 The top flap folders As the wrapped articles continue to move through the machine, they next reach the top flap folders which finish the folding operations. These folders, like the forward edge folding strips I06, are of conventional structure in that they comprise a pair of wide plates I24 (Figs. '1 and 8) with flared out lips I26 at their operative ends which first engage the wrapped articles. Said folding plates are integral with the side heatsealers later described herein.

' It may be pointed out here, however, that said top flap folding plates engage a wrapped article while the same is still under the control of the leading edge folding strips I06 (see Fig. 7) in order that control of the previously made folds may not be relaxed.

The top pushers The partially wrapped articles initially were fed into the loading station with the overlapping edges lowermost in order that the folds first made might be effected in the sole non-continuous surface of each wrapper. However, since the wrapper eventually is to be heat-sealed, the presence of bottom pushers would prevent a seal from being made along the entire exposed length of said overlapped edges. To overcome this difficulty, I transfer conveyance of the wrapped articles at some stage from the bottom pushers to top pushers, i. e. pushers which are carried by an actuating means such as a conveyor located above the path of travel of the articles. Said top pushers may be arranged to take over the conveyance of the articles at any point after the loading station, inasmuch as, although it is necessary for articles to be fed downwardly toward the machine, during the folding of the trailing andleading edges and the top flap the articles can be moved through the machine either by top or by bottom pushers. Thus, the arrangement shown herein, wherein the top pushers are shown to take over conveyance of the articles at a stage between that at which the forward leading edge folds are effected and that at which the top flap folds are effected, is only illustrative.

The top pushers derive their power from a shaft I28 (Figs. 1, 2, and 12) journalled in bearings I30 permanently secured to U-shaped channel irons I32 which are attached by plates I34 to the channel irons 34, 36 forming part of the frame of the machine. This shaft carries a sprocket I36 which is driven from a sprocket I38 by a chain I40. The sprocket I38 is mounted on a shaft I42 carrying a pinion I44 in mesh with an identical pinion I46 on a shaft I48 parallel to the shaft I42. Both shafts I42, I48 are journalled on the frame 22. The shaft I48 has a sprocket I50 afilxed thereto which is of the same size as the sprocket I38, this sprocket engaging a chain I52 which is trained around sprocket I54 slightly larger than the sprocket I36 and secured to the drive shaft 42.

It will be understood that with this arrangement, the shaft I28 will turn slightly faster than the shaft 42.

An auxiliary frame is pivotally secured to the ends of the shaft I28. This frame includes two longitudinally extending right-angle angle irons I56, I58, joined at their ends remote from the shaft I28 by a transverse right-angle angle iron I60. A rotatable shaft I62 disposed transversely of the angle irons I56, I58 is located near the angle iron I60, said shaft being provided with suitable adjusting means I64 so that its distance from the angle iron I60 may be varied.

The shaft I62 carries a pair of spaced return sprockets I86, one located to either side of the longitudinal center line of the machine, i. e. to both sides of the chain 48. The sprockets I66 are secured to the shaft I62 by set screws in order that the spacing therebetween may be varied as desired. The shaft I28 carries a pair of spaced driving sprockets I68 in line with the sprockets I66. These sprockets I68 are no larger than the sprocket 44, thereby making certain that a pair of endless chains I18 which travel around the sprockets I66, I68 move faster than the chain 48 carrying the bottom pusher bars.

The chains I10 have top pusher bars I12 afiixed thereto in such manner that the lower reaches of said chains have the pusher bars depending therefrom and disposed along the path of travel of wrapped articles through the machine. The sprockets I68 are connected to the shaft I28 by set screws which, in addition to permitting lateral adjustment of the sprockets, allow the chain I10 to be brought in proper operative relationship relative to the chain 48, that is, said chain I10 is so set that in operation of the machine each top pusher bar will, shortly after travelling over the sprockets I66, come down behind and overtake a wrapped article being moved through the machine by a bottom pusher bar 56 and thereafter move said wrapped article away from the bottom pusher bar. The top pusher bars are transversely registered and'are spaced apart a proper distance to afford synchronous operation of the machine, inasmuch as said pusher bars move faster than the bottom pusher bars. Thus, if the top pusher bars move 20% faster than the bottom pusher bars, they may be separated by six links instead of the five links by which the bottom pusher bars are separated.

It will be-understood that because the articles are now urged through the machine by top pusher bars, the overlapped edges of the wrapper at the bottom of the article are free along their entire length for heat-sealing.

The purpose in having the top pusher bars move more rapidly than the bottom pusher bars and thus draw the wrapped articles away from the bottom pusher bars is to prevent the bottom pusher bars from disturbing the package when said pusher bars turn around the sprocket 44. The machine is so designed that during the movement of wrapped articles from the sprocket I62 to the sprocket 44 during which the top pushers have taken over conveyance of the articles and have forced the same away from the bottom pushers, the articles will have moved far enough away from the bottom pushers to permit the latter to turn around the sprocket 44 without disturbing passage of the wrapped articles through the machine.

The frame comprising the angle irons I56, I58, I60 is supported at points remote from its pivotally mounted end by a pair of capstan headed posts I14 (Figs. 1, 2, 5a and 7) which are captively rotatably held in ears I16 on the lateral angle irons I56, I58. The bottom ends of the posts are threaded for engagement in tapped apertures in the struts 28. With this arrangement, the entire frame may be swung about the shaft I28 at such time as it is desired to have access to the underlying portions of the machine for cleaning, maintenance or repair. The frame is held in upright position (illustrated by dot and dash lines in Figs. 1 and 5) by a short rearwardly extending bar I18, which is adapted to be frictionally received in a clip I on a rear leg 24 of the frame.

' It .is desirable to incorporate .in the frame .1 58-.I 60, spring mounted top pressing means to .force the wrapped articles against ab'ottom sealling plate. Said pressing means comprisesa pair *of spaced elongated slender bars I82 (Figs. 1, a and 9) which depend from vertical rods I84. '.These rods are provided with collars I86 against whichthe bottom ends of compression springs "I88 press. The top ends .of'said springs bear against the undersurfaces of cross-braces I90 Which extend from one lateral channel iron I56 to the other. The rods I84 are 'slidably received in the cross-braces and are captively held thereto by adjustable collars I92. The strip I94 interposed between the springs I88 and the collars I86 on adjacent rods I84 insures an equal distribution of pressure of the two bars I82 on wrapped articles. It will be understood that these spring-mounted top pressing bar's Will swing up with the frame when the 'same is raised to ineffective position. The top .pushers move wrapped articles from the station at which the top flap is folded through the heat-sealing, cooling, and discharge stations "which will now be described.

The side and bottom heat sealers The right-angle angle irons 58, 66 between which the bottom pusher bars '58 run, do not erminate at but extend beyond the sprocket id to support the articles While the same are being conveyed by the top .push'ers. However, at a point slightly beyond the stationary top flap folding plates I24 the vertical flanges of said angle irons are out off to accommodate a heater of any conventional type, e. g. an electric resistance heater I95 (Figs. 7 and 11). Desirably, the two horizontal flanges of the angle irons 58, 68 are joined by a narrow horizontal strip I98 over the heater in order to present an unbroken flat heated plate to the undersurface of the wrapped article where the overlapping edges of the wrapper are to be heat-sealed while being urged down against the surface by the spring mounted top pressing bars I82. The side seals may be effected at the same time as the bottom seal, although it will be understood by those skilled in the art that this is not essential. Said side seals are obtained by a pair of vertical spaced heavy plates 208 (Figs. 7, 8 and 11) each of which is backed up at its outer surface by a suitable heater, e. g. an electric resistance heater 262. Each of said plates is carried on a group of rods 284 whose outer ends are slidably received in a heavy sheet 288 of insulating material, such as asbestos board mounted on the frame 22. Compression springs 288 urge the heated plates 202 against the infolded material at the sides of the wrapped article. The position of the plates is regulated by collars 2m held by set screws on the rods 204. Said plates 292 constitute the support for the top flap folding plates 24, as is best seen in Figs. 7 and 8.

The cooler The angle irons 58, (ii! terminate at the ends of the heaters I85, H2 and immediately following the same is a horizontal article-supporting grating 212 (Figs. 2, 5 and 12), which consists of a plurality of vertical strips 2M extending longitudinally of the machine beneath the path of travel of the wrapped articles and tied together by cross rods H8 and spacing collars 2 I8, none of which extends above the top surface of the strips 2M.

If desired,a fan (not shown) may be included to blow air through the grating 2I2 upon the articles just sealed in order to accelerate cooling. During such cooling action, the spring mounted top pressing bars I 82 continue to urge articles downwardly against the bottom Supportingmiember, comprising the grating 2I2, so as to keep the bottom seal under pressureduring cooling circle mounting rods 223, which are'used to support the gratings 2211, 222 from the side plates I34. Adjustmentof the gratings is effected by butterfly nuts 228 screwed on the threaded ends of the rods 226 which extend through the plates I34.

It will now be seen that the frame I56IBO, which covers the trailing edge folding station, the leading edge folding station, the top flap folding station, the sealing station, and the cooling Station, may be swung up to expose all of these stations when necessary, thus greatly aiding in simplification of the upkeep and maintenance of the machine.

The discharge station The side gratings 22H, 222 terminate just be fore the sprockets I6 8 (see Fig. 2) but the bottom grating 2I2 extends'well beyond this sprocket (see Fig. 5) to form the support for articles as they are discharged by the top pusher bars I72. Associated with this extension of the bottom grat ing are a set of spring pressed side plates 230 (Figs. 2, 5, 13 and 14) supported by rods 232 and urged towards articles at the discharge station by compression springs 234 which bear against said plates 238 at one end and against angle irons 236 at their opposite ends. These angle irons are carried by the plates I34. Collars 238, secured by set screws 2&9 to the ends of the rods '23? projecting through the angle irons 236, are pro vided to accommodate for different lengths tr article's.

Note should be taken of the fact that the foregoing construction enables articles to be erected as they are discharged from the machine. The articles initially are fed into the machine flat, that is, with the widest recedes/n, as will be apparent from inspection of Fig. 4, inasmuch as this is the simplest position for folding and sealing. However, articles in that position takeup a maximum of floor space. Hence it is desirable to turn the articles to present a narrower face downward once they have been wrapped and sealed. v

The construction of the discharge station just described will accomplish this erection of articles without any additional parts for, as shown in Fig. 14, when the top pusher bars turn about the sprockets 168, their lower ends, which travel just above the bottom grating 212, will catch the package nearits bottom face and raise this face upwardly. This action can be carried out only because the opposite sides of the articles are resiliently grasped between the spring pressed plates 238 which will hold down against the grating the edge of the article remote from the end which is being lifted.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a method and means for wrapping articles which achieve the several objects of this invention and are well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention, and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A machine for completing the wrapping and sealing of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-scalable wrappers with the overlapping edges of the wrappers beneath the bottoms of the articles and the ends of the wrappers extending beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly from said rest and adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, two series of spaced bottom tuckers, one on each side of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that between the bottom pushers and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, means to guide and move said pushers and tuckers to and beyond said loading station, a series of spaced top pushers, means to guide and move said top pushers in a path of travel having a portion in common with the path i of travel of said bottom pushers, said last named means being so timed and arranged relative to said first named guiding and moving means that said top pushers take over conveyance of said wrapped articles from the bottom pushers at said common portion, and means disposed below the path of travel of the articles at the time that the same are conveyed by the top pusher to heat seal the overlapping edges of the wrappers at the bottoms of the articles.

2. A machine for completing the wrapping and sealing of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-sealable wrappers with the overlapping edges of the wrappers beneath the bottoms of the articles and the ends of the wrappers extending beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly from said rest and adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, two series of spaced bottom tuckers, one on each side of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that between the bottom pushers and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, means to guide and move said pushers and tuckers to and beyond said loading station, a series of spaced top pushers, means to guide and move said top pushers in a path of travel having a portion in common with the path of travel of said bottom pushers, said last named means being so timed and arranged relative to said first named guiding and moving means that said top pushers take over conveyance of said wrapped articles from the bottom pushers at said common portion, means disposed below the path of travel of the articles at the time that the same are conveyed by the top pusher to heat-seal the overlapping edges of the wrappers at the bottoms of the articles, and top pressing means to force articles against the heat-sealing means.

3. A machine for completing the wrapping and sealing of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-scalable wrappers with the overlapping edges of the wrappers beneath the bottoms of the articles and the ends of the wrappers extending beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly from said rest and adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, two series of spaced bottom tuckers, one on each side of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that between the bottom pushers and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers bein approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, endless conveyor means to guide and move said pushers and tuckers to and beyond said loading station, a series of spaced top pushers, endless conveyor means to guide and move said top pushers in a path of travel having a portion in common with the path of travel of said bottom pushers, said last named means being so timed and arranged relative to said first named guiding and moving means that said top pushers take over conveyance of said wrapped articles from the bottom pushers at said common portion, and means disposed below the path of travel of the articles at the time that the same are conveyed by the top pusher to heat-seal t"e ovelapping edges of the wrappers at the bottoms of the articles.

4. A machine for completing the wrapping and sealing of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-sealable wrappers with the overlapping edges of the wrappers beneath the bcttoms of the articles and the ends of the wrappers extending beyond the ends upwardly from the rest and being adapted to press against the trailing edges of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same. away from the loading station, a pair of endless conveyors one having a reach on one side of and parallel to said reach of the conveyor for the bottom pushers and the other having a reach on the other side of and parallel to said reach of the conveyor for the bottom pushers, each of said pair of conveyors carrying a. series of bottom tuckers, the bottom tuckers on. the mentioned reaches of said conveyors extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers on each of said conveyors bein the same as that between. the bottom pushers, and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuclrcrs being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leadingsaid bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailin side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, another endless conveyor having a reach with at least a portion over said reach ofthe first named conveyor; and a portion extending beyond the same, a series of spaced top pushers carried by the last named conveyor, whereby said top pushers take over conveyance of said wrapped articles from thebottompushers, and means disposed below thepath. of travel of the articles at the time they'are. conveyed by the top pushers to heat-seal the overlapping edges of the wrappers at the bottoms of the articles.

5. A machine for completing the wrapping and sealing of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-seal'able wrappers with the overlap-ping edges of the wrappers beneath the bottoms of the articles and the ends of the wrappers extending-beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon: articles are deposited at the loadingrsta- 'tion, an endless conveyor having a reach passing through the loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers carried. by said conveyor, said pushers on said reach of the conveyor extending upwardly from the rest and being adapted to press against the trailing edges of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same away from the loading station, a pair of endless conveyors one having a reach on one side of and parallel to said reach of the conveyor for the bottom pushers and the other having a reach on the other side of and parallel to said reach of" the conveyor for the bottom pushers, each of said pair of conveyors carrying a series of bottom tuckers, the bottom tuckers on the mentioned reaches of said conveyors extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers on each of said conveyors being the same as that. between the bottom pushers, and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuclrers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited. on the. rest. with its. trailing side against. a bottom pushen. bottom tucked. folds will be made. in the wrapper atboth ends of. the article, another endless conveyor havin a reach with at least: a portion over said reach of the first named conveyor and a portion extending beyondthe. same, a series. of spaced. top pushers carried by the last named conveyor, said last named conveyor being so timed with regard to theendless conveyor carrying the. bottom pushers that said top pushers take. over con.- veyance of said wrapped articles from the bottom pushers, and means. disposed below the path of travel of the. articles at the time they are; con.- veyed by the top. pushers,. to. heat-seal the: overlapping edges of the. wrappers at the bottoms of the articles.

6. A machinev for completing the. wrapping and sealing. of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-scalable wrappers with the overlapping edges of the wrap.- pers beneath the bottoms of thev articles and the ends of the wrappers extending beyond the ends of the articles? in the form of ShOlt'tllbES whose sections. correspond to. those of the a'r ticlesz' said machine; comprising a. loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station; an endless conveyor having a reach passing through the. loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers carried by said conveyor, said pushers' on said reach of the conveyor extending upwardly from the rest and being-adaptedto press against the trailing edges of the partially wrapped articles to. convey the same away from. the loading station, a pair of endless conveyors one, having a reach on one. side of and parallel to said reach of the conveyor for the bottom pushers and the other having a reach on the. otherside of and parallel to. said reach. of. the conveyorfor the bottom pushera. each of said pair; of conveyors carrying: a series of bottom tuckers; the bottom tuckers on the. mentioned reaches of said conveyors extending: upwardly from said rest, the spacing. between the bottom tuckers on each of said conveyors. being the same as that between. the bottom pushers, and the spacing between the two seriesv of bottom tuckersbeing approximately equal to the distance: from end to. end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when: a, partially wrapped article is deposited. on the restwith its. trailing side against a bottom pusher; bottom tucked; folds will be madein the wrapper at both ends of? the article, another endless conveyor having? a reach with at least a portion over said reach of the. first named con veyor and a portion extending beyond the same, av series of spaced top pushers carried by the last namedconveyor, said last named conveyor moving faster than the first named conveyor and being; so timed with regard to the endless con veyor carrying the bottom pushers that said top pusherstake over conveyance of. said wrapped articlesv fromthe bottom pushers, and means disposed below the. path. of travel of' the articles at the: time they'are conveyed by the toppusherst-o heat-seal the overlapping edges of the wrappers at the bottoms ofthe articles.

7. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially wrapped" by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, andends which. extend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose-sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest Whereon articles are deposited at the loadin station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly from said rest and adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, two series of spaced bottom tuckers one on each side of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that between the bottom pushers and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, means to guide and move said pushers and tuckers to and beyond said loading station, means to fold the leading edges of said wrappers, and endless conveyor means on which said bottom tuckers are mounted, said conveyor means having an upper reach including a straight-line portion moving parallel to the path of travel of said articles, which portion runs into another straight-line portion, moderately sloping downwardly away from the path of travel of said articles, whereby said conveyor means will gradually lower the bottom tuckers after the leading edge folds have been made, so that the bottom tuckers will be gradually disengaged from the folded wrappers without disturbing the latter.

8. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, and ends which extend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly from said rest and adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, two series of spaced bottom tuckers one on each side of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that between the bottom pushers and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, means to guide and move said pushers and tucker-s to and beyond said loading station, means to fold the leading edges of said wrappers, means to fold the top flaps of said wrappers, and endless conveyor means on which said bottom tuckers are mounted, said conveyor means having an upper reach including a straight-line portion moving parallel to the path of travel of said articles, which portion runs into another straight-line portion, moderately sloping downwardly away from the path of travel of said articles, whereby said conveyor means will gradually lower the bottom tuckers after the leading edge folds have been made, so that the bottom tuckers will be gradually disengaged from the folded wrappers without disturbing the latter.

9. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, and ends which extend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a, rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of pushers adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, means to guide and move said pushers to and beyond said loading station, a series of edge folders, means to guide and move said edge folders in a path of travel coincident with that of an end of an article so as to effect a fold and endless conveyor means on which said edge folders are mounted, said conveyor means having an upper reach including a straight-line portion moving parallel to the path of travel of said articles, which portion runs into a straightline portion, moderately sloping downwardly away from the path of travel of said articles, whereby said conveyor means will gradually lower the edge folders and gradually disengage the same from the folded wrappers.

10. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, and ends which extend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of pushers adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, means to guide and move said pushers to and beyond said loading stations, two series of trailing edge folders one on each side of the series of pushers and extending upwardly from the rest, the spacing between the two series of trailing edge folders being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article,

and means to guide and move said trailing edge folders faster than said pushers and in paths of ifzrzltvel parallel thereto so as to effect trailing edge 11. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, and ends which extend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are deposited at the loading station, a series of pushers adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, means to guide and move said pushers to and beyond said loading station, two series of trailing edge folders one on each side of the series of pushers and extending upwardly from the rest, the spacing between the two series of trailing edge folders being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, means to guide and move said trailing edge folders faster than said pushers and in paths of travel parallel thereto so as to effect trailing edge folds, and means to gradually lower said trailing edge folders from the wrappers after the trailing edge folds have been made whereby to gradually disengage said trailing edge folders from the folded wrappers.

1 2. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, and ends which extend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest where- 17 on ar'ticles are deposited at the loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly from said "restfand adapted to press against'thetrailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to'convey'th'e same, two series ofspaced bottom'tu'clters one on each 'sideofthe se'riesof bottom-pushers and likewise' extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the'botto'm t'uck'ers" of 'each i series being the "same as that betweenthe bottom pushers and the spacing betweenthetwo's'eries of bottom tuckers being approximately'equal'to the distance from end to end of each article,said bottom'tucli'ers leading said bottom 'pdshers whereby when a-partially'wrapped article is deposited on the 'restwith itstrailing side against-a bottompusher, bottom tuc'ked folds will be made in thewrapperat both 'ends of the articlefmea'ns'to'guide and move'said 'pushers and tdckers to and beyond saidloadingstation, two series of trailing edge folders'o'ne on each side'of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardl-y from said "rest,' the spacing between the'tWo-series of trailing edge folders being slightly greater than'that'between the two series o'fbot'tom t uckers, means to guide and move said trailing edge folders-in paths of travel parallel to the pushers and tuckers and faster than said pushers and tuckers so as to effect trailing edge folds, means to make leading edge -folds, means to graduallylower'the bottom tuckers fro'in wrappers after-the leading edge folds-havebeen-made, and means to gradually lower the trailing edge folders from wrappers afterthe leading edge folds have been madewhereby said bottom-tuckers and trailing edge folders are gradually disengaged from the foldedwrappers.

13. A machine for completing the wrapping of articles which have been partially; wrapped by being enveloped in' wrappers having overlapping edges, andends 'whiche'xtend beyond the ends of the articles in the form of shorttub es"whose sections correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon' articlesare deposited at the loading station, a series of pushers adapted to'press against the trailing sides'of thepartially wrapped articles to convey'the same, means'to guide and movesaid pushers to'and'beyond'said loadin'g'station, apair ofendless conveyors one oneach side ofthe'series of pushers each having anupper reach and a lower 'reach'and each conveyor engaging rotary elements for 'movingfa'nd guiding'th'e same, the upper 'reachofeach of said conveyors extending betwe'ena pair of rotary elements whose 'axes'of rotation lie in the same plane, eachof 'said endless "conveyors having associated therewith another rotary element whose axis of rotation is below and beyond the axis of rotation of the rotary element "atthe delivery end of the upper reach, and a 'series'of spaced 'bott'omtuckers carried by each said conveyor and extending upwardly from the; rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that 'between the pushers and the spacing between the'two series of bottom t'uckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each'article, said bottomtuckers leading said pushers whereby when a' partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against the bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be "made in the wrapper at both ends of the article and subsequently "the bottomtucke'rs will gradually disengage themselves from the fol'derwrappers. h a g H 14. A machine for completing the wrapping of 18 articles "which havebeen partially wrapped by being enveloped in wrappers having overlapping edges, and ends which extend beyond the ends of :the'articlesinthe form of short tubes whose sections correspond to those of the articlesrsaid machine comprising a loading station, a rest whereon articles are-deposited at the loading station, a seriesof'pushers adapted topress against the'trailingfsides'of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, means to guideand move said pushers to and beyond said loading station, apair of endlessconveyors one on each side of the series of pusherseach having an upper reach anda lower reach and each conveyor engaging rotary elementsfor moving andguiding the same, the'upper reachof'each of said conveyors extending between'a-pair-of rotary elements whose axes of rotation lie in the same plane, each of said endless conveyors having associated therewith another rotary element whoseaxis of rotation is below'and beyond theaxis of rotation of the rotary element-at the delivery end of the upper reach, a series of spaced bottom tuckers carried by 'eachsaid conveyor and extending upwardly fromithe rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of'each series being the same as that between the pushersand the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal 'to the distancelfrom end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers-leading said pushers whereby when'a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against the bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be madein the wrapperat both ends of the article and subsequently the bottom tuckers will gradually disengage'themselves from the folder wrappers, and a second pair of endless conveyorsone on each sideof the series of pushers and outside of the-first named pair'of endless conveyors, each of'saidsecond named pair of endless conveyors having an upper reach and a lower reach and each-ofsaid-second named pair of-conveyors en'- gaging rotary elements for moving and guiding.

the--rotary*element-at the delivery end of the upper reach,-anda series of spaced trailing edge folders carried by eachof said second-named pair of'conveyors and extending upwardly from the rest, the spacing between the two series of trailing edge folders being greater than the spacing between-the-two series of bottom tuckers, said second named set ofrotary elements moving the trailing edge -fold ers faster than the bottom tuckers whereby the trailing edge folderswill overtake the wrapped articles to make trailing edge folds thereon and then gradually disengage themselves irom the folded wrappers. V

-1 5.- A machine for completing the wrapping and sealing of articles which have been partially wrapped by being enveloped in heat-scalable wrappers with the over-lapping edges ofthe wrappers beneath the bottoms of the articles and the ends of the wrappers extending beyond :the ends of; the articlesin the form -of-short tubes whosesecticns correspond to those of the articles: said machine comprising aloading station, a rest whereo'narticles are depositedatthe loading station, a series of spaced bottom pushers extending upwardly "from saidre'st' and adapted to press against the trailing sides of the partially wrapped articles to convey the same, two series of spaced bottom tuckers, one on each side of the series of bottom pushers and likewise extending upwardly from said rest, the spacing between the bottom tuckers of each series being the same as that between the bottom pushers and the spacing between the two series of bottom tuckers being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, said bottom tuckers leading said bottom pushers whereby when a partially wrapped article is deposited on the rest with its trailing side against a bottom pusher, bottom tucked folds will be made in the wrapper at both ends of the article, means to guide and move said pushers and tuckers to and beyond said loading station, means to fold the trailing edges of the wrappers, means to fold the leading edges of the wrappers, means to fold the top flaps of the wrappers, a frame disposed above said bottom pushers, said bottom tuckers and all of said folding means, means to move said frame vertically toward and away from said folding means, bottom pushers and bottom tuckers, a series of spaced top pushers carried by said frame, means to guide and move said top pushers in a path of travel having a portion in common with the path of travel of said bottom pushers, said last named mean being so timed and arranged relative to said first named guiding and moving means that said top pushers take over conveyance of said wrapped articles from the bottom pushers at said common portion, and means disposed below the path of travel of the articles at the time that the same are conveyed by the top pusher to heat-seal the overlapping edges of the wrappers at the bottoms of the articles.

16. In a machine for folding wrappers about articles, the combination, with a series of spaced pushers which move the articles in a predetermined straight-line path of travel and at a predetermined speed, of means for folding the trailing edges of wrappers on the articles, said means comprising two series of spaced trailing edge folder elements, one on each side of the series of pushers, the spacing between the elements of each series being greater than the spacing between the pushers and the spacing between the two series of elements being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article, means to move said series of elements in straightline paths of travel parallel to and alongside the paths of travel of both ends of the articles and at a speed faster than the speed of travel of the articles, whereby said elements will overtake and pass the trailing edges of the articles so as to make trailing edge folds in the wrappers.

17. In a machine for folding wrappers about articles, the combination, with a series of spaced means which move the articles in a predetermined straight-line path of travel and at a predetermined speed, of means for folding the trailing edges of wrappers on the articles, said means comprising a trailing edge folder element, means to move said element in a straight-line path of travel parallel to and alongside the path of travel of an end of an article and at a speed faster than the speed of travel of the article whereby said element will overtake and pass the trailing edges of the article so as to make trailing edge folds in the wrapper, and means to resiliently press the trailing edge folds against the article after it is made and while it is still held in place by the folding element.

18. In a machine for folding wrappers about 20 articles, the combination, with a series of spaced pushers which move the articles in a predetermined straight-line path of travel and at a predetermined speed, of means for folding the trailing edges of wrappers on the articles, said means comprising two series of spaced trailing edge folder elements, one on each side of the series of pushers, the spacing between the elements of each series being greater than the spacing between the pushers and the spacing between the two series of elements being approximately equal to the distance from end to end of each article,

means to move said series of elements in straightline paths of travel parallel to and alongside the paths of travel of both ends of the articles and at a speed faster than the speed of travel of the articles, whereby said elements will overtake and pass the trailing edges of the articles so as to make trailing edge folds in the wrappers, and means to resiliently press the trailing edge folds against the article after they are made and while they are still held in place by the folding element.

19. In a machine for folding wrappers about articles, the combination, with a series of spaced means which push the articles in a predetermined straight-line path of travel and at a predetermined speed, of means for folding the trailing edges of wrappers on the articles, said means comprising a series of spaced edge folder elements, means to move said elements in a straightline path of travel parallel to and alongside the path of travel of the end of said articles and at a speed faster than that of said articles, said elements being spaced apart a distance greater than the spacing between the moving means by a percentage equal to the percentage by which the speed of the element exceeds the speed of the articles, whereby said elements will overtake and pass the trailing edges of the articles so as to make trailing edge folds in the Wrappers.

20. In a machine of the character described, the combination, with an endless conveyor having an upper and lower reach and whose lower reach is disposed between a pair of rotary elements engaged by the conveyor and a series of spaced top pushers carried by said endless conveyor and adapted to convey articles through at least a portion of the machine while the pushers are at the lower reach of the endless conveyor, of means to resiliently press against the lateral ends of articles conveyed by the pushers as said articles come beneath the rotary element at the delivery end of the conveyor, whereby articles delivered by the conveyor will be turned as they are delivered.

GEORGE C. MONACO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,017,094 Graetz Feb. 13, 1912 1,203,878 Huson et al. Nov. 7, 1916 1,641,042 Marasso Aug. 30, 1927 1,766,142 Olson June 24, 1930 1,824,266 Haas Sept. 22, 1931 1,851,295 Schmitt Mar. 29, 1932 2,138,728 Chalmers Nov. 29, 1938 2,144,265 Milmoe Jan. 17, 1939 2,162,773 Bronander June 20, 1939 2,192,683 Bronander Mar. 5, 1940 2,336,795 Malhiot Dec. 14, 1943 

